An Infuriating Legacy
by Casa Circe
Summary: The Lord of the Western Lands is most seriously displeased.Sesshoumaru ponders on the painful truth about Tenseiga, his father's true intentions, and every inconvenience that comes in between. Spoilers for "The Final Act" episodes 13 & 14. One-shot.


_An Infuriating Legacy_

_**Disclaimer: I do not claim to own "InuYasha" at all. No profit is gained here except the sheer gratification of receiving reviews.**_

_**NOTE: My very first foray into writing fan fiction for InuYasha. I confess that I am not a huge fan of the show, although I enjoy it a lot and have read a fair share of Inuyasha fan fiction. I haven't followed every single episode of the main anime series. So far I've only completed "The Final Act" so my knowledge of the details of the story might be at fault. Feel free to correct any inaccuracies that you may read here.**_

_**To say that Sesshoumaru is a great character is a huge understatement. Anyway, I've longed to write some fan fiction about him for quite a while. I just couldn't find any story to do him any justice. This is the most I can come up with, because I cannot help but react on Episodes 13 and 14 of the "Final Act". But my characterization is only an approximate since, like I mentioned, I haven't seen all the episodes of the series. So I apologize for any inaccuracies in that aspect.**_

_**Oh, and sorry also for the paltry writing. This was written in a feverish fit of inspiration, amidst a host of pressing academic work. I just could not silence my muse.**_

_**Hope you like this little piece, nevertheless. Please do leave a review if you can. Thanks very much.**_

_**--**_

"I pity you, Sesshoumaru! Your father was truly cruel to do such a thing to you!"

There are a very few things in the world that make the feared Lord of the Western Lands lose his cool.

Unfortunately, this was one of them.

Sesshoumaru was most seriously displeased.

The demon lord narrowed his golden eyes as Shishinki's last words echoed in his mind. He was walking slowly away from Totosai's home, pondering on all that had happened, most especially with his new discoveries about Tenseiga and his father's true intentions.

"This Sesshoumaru is never to be pitied by anyone," he thought angrily, silently cursing the other demon for having dared say such a thing to him.

But the fight with Shishinki had revealed so much that had been hidden from him, much that he now felt he was better off not knowing.

This was truly insult to injury. Even from beyond the grave, the Inu-taisho continued to try the patience of his eldest son.

It had taken a while for Sesshoumaru to somehow live with the fact that Inuyasha had inherited the Tetsusaiga. After all, he had acquired a sword of his own, Tenseiga, with a technique that surpassed all others. He had literally gone to hell and back in order to perfect the Meidou Zangetsuha.

But now the truth was out about Tenseiga's origins and the Inutaisho's intentions. That whining fool Shishinki, the cowardly Myoga, and even Totosai had all confirmed it.

And even if Inuyasha was too blind or stupid to realize what all of this had meant, Sesshoumaru knew it well. And he could not understand why his father had chosen such a strange and roundabout way of pitting brother against brother.

Surely the Inutaisho had realized how much Sesshoumaru hated his half-brother. Why go through such complicated and secret lengths if the end was only death?

A light breeze blew against Sesshoumaru's regal figure as he traversed the road in solitude. He needed this time, away from Jaken, Rin, Ah-un, and Kohaku. He needed to think, to decide on what to do next. How did he come to have so many traveling companions anyway?

They just would not leave his side. Fools. But it was a choice they made on their own. He had certainly not required them to follow him.

And yet, in spite of his general dislike of others (humans especially), he had been given a healing sword.

"Humph," he thought, "after all, if that weakling Inuyasha had a healing sword, he would go around healing every pathetic whimpering creature he met."

At least Sesshoumaru was more selective about whom to save.

The lord glanced at the hilt of his sword, and recalled the moment when Tenseiga had pulsated simultaneously with Tetsusaiga.

He may have been able to complete a perfect Meidou Zangetsuha. But it had only been because Inuyasha and Tetsusaiga had been there. The circular path to the underworld had opened in order for him to protect his younger, half-breed brother.

Sesshoumaru frowned at the thought. The only thing his father had left for him was not even for him alone.

And although he had been avoiding the question ever since he had left the battlefield where he and Shishinki had fought, it imposed itself upon him once more.

_Why did you do this to me, father?_

Sesshoumaru frowned bitterly, clenching his right fist as he continued to make his way back to somewhere, anywhere he could return to.

"I am not and never will be," he thought coldly, "my brother's keeper."

--

"Abandon them all, Sesshoumaru. Abandon your attachment to the sword and your hatred of Inuyasha. Once you do, you will surpass your father."

Sesshoumaru was not to be given orders by anyone. How could he forget about the heirloom that was rightfully his or about the half-brother whose very existence was an insult to him? No, it was impossible.

And yet, his visit to Totosai only seemed to bring more questions than answers.

The old wordsmith had spoken of the Inutaisho's "long-term plan."

What did this even mean? What more was there to the fact that Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha were fated to kill each other?

It seemed the deeper he delved into the matter, the less he understood about it. His father's plans had never been clear to him, no matter how much he tried to see the sense in them.

The great demon-lord had always acted in such a peculiar manner. And it didn't look like Totosai was going to give any more information on the matter.

The one-armed demon lord was not accustomed to being in the dark about things. And yet as he continued to piece everything together as best as he could, he was still unable to see the whole picture. It was a great inconvenience.

--

Sesshoumaru could not help but raise his gaze to the cloudy sky above him, almost hoping to catch a glimpse of the cold demon lady who was his mother.

"I don't suppose you would know anything about this," he addressed her silently, trying to imagine that cool and distant face staring back at him with an expression of mock concern. Sesshoumaru frowned at the memory.

He was not too keen on visiting his mother again so soon after she had sent him to the underworld. He would not give her the satisfaction of seeing his displeasure with the whole arrangement.

But even if his mother had known of the Inu-taisho's plans for the two blades, Sesshoumaru doubted she would tell him of it. After all, the truth would only be a reflection of the double insult his father had given Inukimi.

First, to be cast aside and replaced by a weak, human woman.

And now, for her son to be cast aside in a similar manner.

Insult to injury indeed.

Why was it that the great and valiant dog-demon lord always favored such weak humans?

"He was always a mysterious one, your father was," he remembered his mother telling him once long, long ago, "I never knew what to make of him or any of his strange ideas. And yet, you can be sure, he never did anything without a purpose somehow. His motives aren't always clear or even comprehensible, but he has his own way of doing things."

She had sighed then and he had noted a hint of true melancholy in that gesture. She had seemed almost nostalgic.

"I suppose I never tried to understand him as much as I should have," she had said, more to herself than to him.

Then, she had turned to face her son with a strange, almost sincere expression on her face. He had been taken aback by such uncharacteristic behavior although his expression remained as passive as it always was.

"But perhaps you will know more about him than I ever did," she had said, "after all, his blood flows through your veins. Perhaps only you might be able to unlock some of his secrets someday."

Although he was not prone to sympathy for others, Sesshoumaru understood some measure of the pain his mother continued to feel because of his father's strange actions. And though he would never admit this to anyone, Sesshoumaru thought that she was better at hiding her disappointment than he was.

--

As he continued his journey, Sesshoumaru resolved to make the most out of his father's bizarre and infuriating legacy. He was not afraid of whatever other trials awaited him down that winding road.

Sesshoumaru would never allow himself to be defeated, not by the fiercest of enemies, and not by his own inadequacies. Everyone else might fall, but not him.

The old wordsmith had said that Sesshoumaru could surpass his father someday.

"And surpass you, I shall," the Lord of the Western Lands swore to the sky.


End file.
